Secondhand exposure to asbestos is a problem

As we have previously reported, our firm is handling a good number of mesothelioma cases. As you know, mesothelioma is a deadly form of lung cancer that is caused from exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is a fiber that was inhaled by many workers, and inhalation of the fiber led to the development of lung cancer. The workers who were at the greatest risks included those who worked in shipyards, in the construction industry, around insulation, around or near boilers, and in industries where asbestos was a common product used in the manufacturing process.

What is perhaps most fascinating, and alarming at the same time, about this disease is that it can lie dormant in the body for 20 to 50 years! In other words, a person could have inhaled fibers on the job in the 1940s or 1950s and only now develop the disease. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration began demanding that businesses greatly reduce or eliminate the presence of asbestos in their products and in their buildings. Despite the tremendous reduction in asbestos in products and materials, the rates of new mesothelioma diagnoses continue to remain constant.

More and more of the cases being diagnosed are of women and people who did not work in industries known for asbestos exposures. Studies have shown that wives who washed their husbands’ asbestos-covered clothing were also exposed. Children whose fathers worked in the industries with the greatest risks were also exposed from the dangerous dust and fibers that their fathers would bring home on their clothing. Grandchildren who hugged their grandfathers or sat on their laps when they came home from work may have also been exposed. Literally, the possibilities of second-hand exposures are limitless.